Tags and topics realted to this article include Murs and 9th Wonder. Hip Hop, Rap and New Releases.

Murs is not your average MC—he’s your way-above-average MC. And he knows it. “I don’t think anybody out there is rapping like I rap here,” Murs says of his blazing new album, Murray’s Revenge—his latest collaboration with superstar producer 9TH WONDER. Indeed, it’s no idle boast—from Murray’s Revenge’s manifesto-like opener “Murs Day,” the Los Angeles born and bred MC anoints himself “the one chosen to break up the ice that got the rap world frozen,” and he doesn’t disappoint. For one, after a staunch career in the indie trenches, Murray’s Revenge is Murs’ first release on LA based record label Record Collection (The Walkmen, John Frusciante) after two albums on the legendary “undie” label Def Jux; for another, he doesn’t swear or use the n-word on the whole record—not that he doesn’t address ill topics. “My thing is saying things that nobody else will say, and saying it well,” says the rapper whose name may or not be an acronym for “Makin’ Underground Raw Shit” or “Most Underground Rap Sucks.” “I’m dying to say what no one will ever say.”

Murray’s Revenge follows the runaway acclaim of Murs’ last album, 2004’s instant classic 3:16—The 9th Edition (Def Jux). 3:16 was Murs’ first collabo with studio supercat 9th Wonder, who first gained fame as beatmaster for revered North Carolina underground group Little Brother and then blew up with “Threat,” his slammer off Jay-Z’s The Black Album; since then, 9th has made his name with tracks for overground superstars (Mary J. Blige, Freeway, Memphis Bleek, M.O.P., Destiny’s Child) and underground heroes (Buckshot, Jean Grae, Saigon). The combo of Murs’ lyrical virtuosity and 9th’s crate-digging, soul-sonic mastery put 3:16 on numerous year-end top 10 lists, including Urb’s “Best of 2004,” receiving rave reviews across the board.

“3:16 is how an album should be done,”praised Complex; “A well-rounded LP, fueled with the synergy of good rhymes and dope beats. Rappers and A&Rs take note,” XXL’s review stated, putting the album at “XL” status; “Murs delivers a musical treasure that bridges hip hop’s dissimilar subcultures,” VIBE wrote; “An appreciation for the heart, humor and no-bullshit directness of the very best in hip hop is all that's required,” said Alternative Press. Indeed, over 9th’s packing-more-heat-than-the-oven-door tracks, Murs dropped immortal rhyme gems that would become some of hip-hop’s most debated verses. 3:16 repped Murs’ diverse verbals, from identity-questioning songs like “The Pain” (where Murs claimed he’s “more Coldplay than Ice-T”) to the controversial, racial-debating real talk of “…And This Is For” (“I feel I should have the same scans white rappers have”). Murs’ contradictory, Ice Cube-meets-“Daisy Age” flow always flips the script here: even 3:16’s talk-like-sex anthems “Bad Man” and “Freak These Tales,” like Murs’ hero Too Short, prove both nasty and lyrical.

“I’m not of the impression that 9th brought something out in me that wasn’t there,” Murs says of the pair’s electric chemistry on 3:16, reprised on Murray’s Revenge. “I don’t think I bring out something new in him either, but when he works with someone, he just brings out the best in them. Our bond is strong—we make a good match: he’s different from a lot of producers and I’m different from a lot of other rappers, so we make great music together. When a great musician gets to work with a great musician, it’s always going

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